Part-time employees working in the eligible job codes can earn up to $5,000, dispersed over the applicable service period determined by your tenure with Harris Health.

– Qualifying part-time employees with less than five years of service may receive:

• 3 payments of $500 in year 1
• 2 payments of $500 in year 2
• Two respective payments of $500 and $2,000 in year 3

– Qualifying part-time employees with five or more years of service may receive:

• 3 payments of $500 in year 1
• Two respective payments of $1,000 and $2,500 in year 2
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All employees ineligible for the Retention Bonus Program, will receive a ONE-TIME  Appreciation Bonus in the amount of $1000.00 if you were employed on or before October 1, 2021.

AFSCME 1550 feels the Retention Bonus Program and the Appreciation Bonus is completely unfair. How fair is it when an employee hired for 3 months received the same bonus (and in some cases… more) as employee who has been with Harris Health Systems for 20 years?  

AFSCME 1550 questioned CEO, Dr. Esmaeil Porsa & Omar Reid, VP of HR as to how they arrived at the calculation & distribution of the Retention Bonus & Appreciation Bonus?  Neither could give a concrete answer.  Dr. Porsa stated “It stops with me”.

It sends a clear message to an EVS worker that you’re essential but not valuable! It says to the Facility Engineer that despite your contributions, we don’t recognize you! It says to a Cook, Security Officer, Guest Transportation, HIM or Coder that you’re expendable!

Every employee that enters Harris Health System’s pavilions, clinics, and offices are at risk of endangering their lives or someone else lives whether they’re directly connected to patient care or not. During the course of the day and on a daily basis an EVS, HIM, Engineer, Cook, Coder, Security Officer, or Guest Transportation employee will at some point have an encounter with a direct care individual.

Amazing how one minute these departments are essential at one degree, then when it comes to money… no longer essential.

It’s one thing to be compensated for a certain skill set but when you’re issuing out bonuses for ensuring Harris Health System’s sustainability and operational success, during the worst pandemic this country has ever seen, then ALL EMPLOYEES of Harris Health Systems should receive the same flat-rate across the board bonus because ALL EMPLOYEES have contributed to the sustainability and operational success of Harris Health Systems!

It is long past time that these workers are treated as truly essential. This starts with simply recognizing the value of their work and give them the respect and appreciation they truly deserve.